What will happen without Chris Mihm for the next month or so? One thing appears clear: Kwame Brown will start.

This is not all bad for the Lakers. Phil Jackson likes the idea of starting Brown and thus demanding more accountability from him rather than allowing him to slide into a lowered-expectation reserve role. Brown hasn’t been starting since it became apparent the Lakers needed Brian Cook’s scoring threat early in games to keep it from being Kobe Bryant all the time. But by the same token, Mihm has been a big early scoring threat, too, with Jackson often calling for Mihm early, and Brown has yet to show he can do anything on offense with any dependability. Brown is, however, better at playing center in the triangle offense than forward, so that’s something.

A greater concern for the Lakers will be defense, even though Mihm did such a shoddy job staying with the likes of Robert Swift in transition and plugging the lane against the likes of Ray Allen in this loss. Brown can defend OK, but he will often encounter foul trouble … and the Lakers have no one else on the roster with the size and experience to handle big bodies who are serious offensive threats.